‘iZombie’ Season 3 Review: Getting Lost in Brains

With such a long way to go before season 4 of iZombie premieres and San Diego Comic Con goodies and details behind us, we’re going to need something to tide us over. That’s where this season 3 review comes in!

We’re going to dive deep and talk about the things we hated, loved, and wished we could just forget. (Looking at you Jackass brain Liv Moore.) It’s going to be honest and a little brutal at times. But it’s all for the love of this show and our hope that it’ll learn from it’s season 3 mistakes.

Overall Impression

Does anyone know what happened with Liv? What journey she went on this season? Neither do I. She killed it at every single brain that she consumed but everything else fell to the wayside. It also felt like this season was trying to push our characters in unnatural directions to create conflict while ignoring the people right in front of them. I’m talking about Peyton and her love triangle when we really want to see more of Liv and Peyton friendship. And Liv and Justin when really want to see the romance between Liv and Major blossom into something stable. Because contrary to popular belief couples can have conflicts outside of their relationship that they face together. But that’s an article for another day.

Overall season three was funny but missing a lot of the heart that we loved in seasons one and two. Here’s hoping iZombie pulls back from this kind of writing and gives us a journey worth rooting for and watching in season 4!

What Worked

Rose McIver’s Acting

No matter what iZombie through it her Rose killed it. She seamlessly transformed and took on the attributes of every single brain that she ate. She was an overbearing dad, a dominatrix ready to put the police sketch artist in his place, and so many other memorable characters. Do I wish she didn’t drown in the brain that she ate? No. But Rose brought it every single time and gave it all she had. I believed her when she was overly enthusiastic about playing an RPG and I believed her when she took on a Zen approach to life. She remains the strongest part of iZombie.

Majors New Family

With everything that’s happened to him in the last two seasons, Major has had nowhere to turn to and lost his sense of purpose. (Yes, he still has Liv and Ravi, but they’ve been on their own adventures and haven’t been able to provide the support he needs.) Fillmore Graves gave him family, friends, and the purpose he was so desperately seeking for. That acceptance is the reason why he decided to be a zombie again. He’s home, finally, with a group of people who don’t care about his past or how he came to be a zombie in the first place.

Ravi Getting Out in the Field

Ravi is breaking out of the morgue and spending more and more time out on the field. He’s always been willing to take risks for his family and friends, but this season felt like he’s stepped it up! He knows that he might be one of the only people in a position to provide a cure for zombie-ism so he isn’t going to let the morgue cage him in. Extra kudos for the fact that he injected himself with the zombie cure and asked Liv to scratch him. There’s no stopping the man he’s becoming and I’m so excited for what risks he’s willing to take next.

What Didn’t Work

Keeping Liv and Major Separated

These two had some great moments throughout the season that made me believe that iZombie was finally going to put them together. Oh how wrong I was. They brought in some random girl from Tumblr to be with Major in a sex fort. And then they brought iZombies version of Piz, Veronica Mars reference there for you, to distract Liv. No one bought it. And I was kind of annoying to see them waste time with people that were obviously there to stop them from being with each other.

Even when Major was human I didn’t understand what was stopping them from being together. So what, they couldn’t have sex and that stopped them from being together. If that’s it, then their relationship isn’t as strong as I thought it was. With Major a zombie once more, I wonder what their excuse will be next.

Killing Off Natalie

Natalie was what great secondary characters are made out of. She had her own backstory, woes, and a long journey still ahead of her. Bringing her back in to just have her killed felt sloppy. After everything that she went through and the connection that she had with Major, the sparks were there people, I wanted them to just be happy away from Seattle and all its crazy zombieness for a little bit.

Going for Pizzazz When It Came to Brains

This season was all about showing how crazy they could go with the brains and how much they could entertain us. Problem is they didn’t go for quality entertainment, more flash and pizzazz instead. In fact, 75% of the time I couldn’t see Liv or understand what her journey was when she was on any of these brains. The brains are supposed to influence her behaviors. Not overtake her completely and make her into an unrecognizable person.

What We Wanted to See More Of

Jason Dohring

For those who watched Veronica Mars, Jason Dohring was a welcome addition. *Insert heart eyes for the LoVe ship* But even for those who didn’t know who he was and who didn’t really care for Logan, we enjoyed having Jason on the cast. He wasn’t what we all expected and he didn’t fit into the little box we were ready to put him into. We’re hoping that he becomes a regular for season 4.

Liv and Major on Brains Together

Hands down, some of the best scenes of iZombie season 3 were when Liv and Major were on parent /daughter brains. They complement each other so well and it was refreshing to see them circling around each other with no drama. Well a little bit of drama, but not as much as we usually see in this season. Everytime Liv chastised Major and he responded in a typical teenage fashion, felt like a gif worthy moment.

Liv and Clive Working Together

Clive being in on the zombie secret completely revolutionized his relationship with Liv. He now understood her eccentricities and knew the weird lengths that Liv had to go to to get their man. Like eating brains. It also showed how much he respected and valued his relationship with Liv. He didn’t care that she was a zombie and he would do whatever he had to to protect her and her secret, even going as far as tanking his relationship with Dale.

What We Wanted to See Less Of

Brains

I know it makes no sense to want to see less of brains on a show with zombies. But stay with me. this season Liv became the brains. We lost the woman we have grown to love over the last couple years to personalities that were fun but overwhelming. The show needs to reel it back and show that Liv is in control and that the brains are just a little addition or quirk that she has to deal with weekly in order to solve crimes.

Random Love Interests

Now, I’m here for Liv and Major exploring different love interests and watching them grow with these new people. (The writers aren’t going to put them together anytime soon so I’m okay with a journey happening) What I’m not here for, is random love interests that add nothing to Liv or Majors journey and are there to move some other plot point along. A plot point so small that they disappear and lose their usefulness as soon as it happens. I’m not here for that. I’m here for well-rounded characters who contribute to the overall world of iZombie and stick around we remain relevant long after they break up with Liv or Major.

Same thing goes for Ravi and that random reporter girl.

The Death of Vivian Stoll

It’s not often where we see women like Vivian in positions of power and the makings of becoming a grand villain. Because let’s be honest, that’s what she was heading for. And I’m okay with Jason (simmer down Dohring fans) but it feels like they just killed her to replace her with a male, more cold hearted, version of herself. I really need someone to explain to me why her death had to happen. And in such a callous, nondescript way like she was written off the show halfway through filming cuz reasons or they changed their mind about her.

Ravi, Peyton, and Blaine Love Triangle

It didn’t live up to the hype and made me want to turn away whenever it came up. I also couldn’t get over the fact that Peyton was trying to be in a relationship with a man who killed children, turned Liv, and killed Lowell. It’s like she didn’t care or the writers forgot that we have Netflix and we can go back to those episodes.

Favorite Episodes

Zombie Knows Best (Episode 3×02) – This episode saw Liv and Major nom on father/daughter brain and show us a how much chemistry the two actors have. Every line was spot on and I was hoping that Major still had a little bit of that daughter brain saved for future dramatic moments like the one above. (P.S. I know what I said. Saving a girls brains. But come on, this is a show about zombies!)

Spanking the Zombie (Episode 3×05) – This episode saw Liv in more control than I’ve seen her all season. She knew who she was and possessed an aura or confidence that everyone could feel and see. Especially loved the sketch artists reaction to her. He’ll never forget her!

Looking for Mr. Goodbrain, Part 1 (Episode 3×12) – This episode saw Liv donning a wig to act “normal”. Clive’s surprise was hilarious and the Ravi visions were just the icing on the cake.

Least Favorite Episodes

Wag the Tongue Slowly (Episode 3×04) – This episode saw Liv turning to an office gossip who made things worse and stirred the pot when it came to Ravi, Peyton, and Blaine…who we really didn’t care about because that love triangle was a joke.

Eat a Knievel (Episode 3×08) – This episode saw Liv eating the brain of a jackass and then becoming one herself. It was a side of Liv that I never wanted to see and got quickly bored of.

Season Finale Impression

You know how sometimes you watch a show and they have this huge consequence that is on the horizon, but it’s a show so you’re sure that they’re going to find some way out of this predicament. Especially when it seems like it’s something essential to the core of the show. That’s how I felt while watching the season finale of iZombie. Lo and behold they actually went for it and revealed the zombie secret to the world. I was surprised, entertained, and absolutely ready to build a time machine to go and watch season four asap.

Next Season Speculation

iZombie is going to start building a world where the zombie secret is out and about. They’re going to be showing us how people’s lives have been changed from day-to-day and the bigger repercussions of all of this getting out. There will be a lot of people that won’t like it and will join up together to fight against the zombies. But I think there will be a lot of people who will understand that zombies eat the brains of the dead and not the living, especially when they have family members, innocents, and children that were turned into zombies during the vaccination.

What were your thoughts on iZombie season three? Let us know in the comments section below!

Editor, Writer, Supreme Mugwump

Lyra enjoys loud mouthed, damaged characters, with a penchant for rescuing people and drinking their sorrows away. When she isn’t splurging on Netflix shows she’s not so quietly ranting about Teen Wolf, The Walking Dead, and Supernatural!